Originally Posted by
Igor718
Sorry but I disagree about tips based on amount spend. So if I go to even better restaurant and spend $600 for two, I should leave $120 tip?
You see ... I don't go to a good restaurant for pampering. I got for good food. I don't need that extra "fake" smile. Just suggest something good and bring it warm enough.
If you believe that 20% is a must then stick with it and pay more than I do. You'll feel better about yourself and I'll have more money left over. ......... no offense.
You can afford a $500 meal, but are going to stiff the waiter with just 10% (for very good service)? You cannot afford a $500 meal, then.
Tragedy of the commons. Tips are a social construct by community and in the US, you are inventing your own standard if there is a $ ceiling beyond which tips should not go.
You may notice that restaurants are judged on food, service, and decor. They are not based on "warm enough" food served behind a McDonald's counter.
I am going to guess that such an opinion comes from someone who 1)has not worked in a service profession dependent upon tips (e.g., as a waiter); and 2) does not, and probably has not, lived in NYC or any other similar cosmopolitan 'Global city'.
For an economic argument, you may have noticed that wait staff varies in quality. That quality is not incidental to the pay that they receive which incents higher-quality personnel to be at restaurants with better paying clientele. By stiffing the wait staff, you are essentially mooching off the other customers and violating the social contract.